Youthful Love
by kurisuchin45556
Summary: Lee hasn't been able to find a girl that was something truely special to him. While on a routine patrol that changes. Her name is Kuri and she's about to change his life forever
1. Chapter 1

Ch.1

Blood sprayed, carried by the wind and a young girl fell to her knees. "Why are you attacking me?" she asked her assailants.

The three ninja laughed and the tallest spoke, "Because, your father betrayed our village and he's dead so you are all that left to take revenge on."

The world began to go blurry for the girl and she fell the rest of the way to the ground. 'Please help me, someone, anyone' the girl thought before her world went black.

Around a mile away

Lee suddenly stopped mid sentence and stood stock still, turning his head to the left. The rest of the team stopped as well and looked at their teammate.

"Oi Lee! What's up, why are you stopping?" Neji asked.

"I have this strange feeling and I can't explain it, but I think something is going on over there." Lee looked at Neji then to his sensei, "May I go take a look?"

Gai knew that when Lee felt something, however rare it was, he was right. "All right, but take your radio incase something turns up."

"Hai!" and with that Lee sprang off through the trees. As he went Lee noticed increase signs of battle and blood splatter everywhere. 'I don't like the looks of this' Lee's senses suddenly went into overdrive and he went more cautiously, careful not to make a sound. He knew why when he stopped above a group of four people, one of which was lying in a puddle of blood. "What the hell?" Lee whispered to himself but then he noticed the three conscious people's headbands, they were from the hidden cloud village.

"State your business here," Lee ordered as he jumped down to stand in front of the three.

The ninja stared at him and then one who Lee presumed to be the leader stepped forward, "Our business is our business so get lost leaf brat."

"Unless I have a good reason for you being here you are not welcome."

The leader sighed and took a fighting stance, "You should have stayed out of it brat, but if you'd rather fight, come on!"

The other two of the group took their stances as well and all three came at him at once. This of course was no problem for Lee and he Konoha senpuud their buts till they were running away screaming like girls. Now that he had a chance Lee knelt down and rolled the girl over only two find multiple bleeding gashes from her neck all the way to her upper leg and all over her arms. "Tenten," He called on the radio.

"_Hai Lee,"_ came her reply.

"I'm in need of your assistance, now."

Minutes later Tenten, Gai and Neji all arrived.

"What's going on Lee, why do you need my help?" Tenten asked.

Lee pointed to the girl on the ground. Everyone turned to look at her and Tenten became confused, "Why do you need my help, you know how to bandage wounds."

Lee blushed, "Well I would have except for the placing of a few of these gashes."

Tenten sighed and signaled for the three men to turn around. Lee felt the presence of her healing chakra and relaxed a bit.

"All right," came Tenten's voice, "I've done all I can for her but we need to get her to a hospital right away."

Lee turned and saw Tenten beginning to lift the girl onto her back and for some unknown reason Lee didn't like it, "I'll take her Tenten."

The rest of his team looked at him, but unlike the rest of them Gai just smiled knowingly.

"Okay Lee if you're sure," Tenten carefully positioned the girl on Lee's back and they sprang off.

They ran atop the tree branches for around ten minutes before Lee felt the girl shift and moan behind him, "Oh you're awake."

She looked at him and then the oddest question came out of her mouth, "Where are you taking me?"

"To the village," When she heard this, the girl began to yell 'let me go' and hit Lee's back while squirming, all of this combined made Lee lose his grip and the girl began to fall. Lee pushed himself off the branch he was on and caught the girl right before she hit the ground.

"Nice catch Lee." Gai shouted while doing his good guy pose. Lee for once was paying absolutely no attention to his sensei and looked at the girl now once again on the ground.

"Why are you so afraid of us?" he asked.

The girl noticed their headbands and relaxed, "Oh, I'm sorry I thought you were cloud ninja."

"Yeah speaking of cloud ninja could you tell me why they were chasing you."

"If I must," She took a big breath and began her story, "Many years ago when I was just a little girl my father betrayed our village, the hidden cloud. He ran Leaving my mother and I alone and not more than a month after he left, my mother committed suicide because she couldn't love with the shame. The villages hated me for being the 'betrayers' daughter and were awful to me, I eventually left the village and went out to find my father. When I found him he let me travel with him and he trained me as a ninja. We traveled into the rice country and met up with a man by the name of Sasuke Uchiha. He murdered my father and I ran back to the land of lightning. The cloud found out about it and have been chasing me since."

Lee and Gai both had tears in their eyes and were staring at her intently, "That is the saddest story I've ever heard," Lee whimpered.

Tenten cleared her throat, "I'm very sorry that those things happened to you and I don't want to seem insensitive but we really need to know your name."

The girl smiled and nodded, "My name is Kurisuchin Benoi but you can call me Kuri, it's a pleasure to meet you all."

"I'm Rock Lee!"

"Hyuuga Neji"

"Tenten"

"Maito Gai"

Lee held out his hand to help Kuri up. She gladly took it but when she went to get up she doubled over, holding her hand to her stomach.

"Are you all right?" Lee asked.

Kuri pulled her hand away only to find it blood covered.

"Shit! Lets go guys, she needs to see a medical ninja now." Lee lifted her back up and they all began to run, no longer bothering to go into the trees.

"Lee, keep her awake, if she passes out now it could mean serious trouble." Neji said as he activated his byakugan to look ahead. 'Why do I even care?' he thought.

"Hai, Kuri I want you to name all of the countries you've been to."

She nodded, "Lightning, Fire, Earth, Waves, Wind, Rice, that's it."

"Good, now tell me about your mother." Lee couldn't think of anything else so he brought up what he knew to be a sensitive subject.

"She was beautiful (gasp) she was kind and was pregnant with my brother when she committed suicide." Kuri began to cry.

"All right, it's ok, just tell me about anything you want."

"I- I don't know what to…" Kuri lost consciousness at that moment.

Lee put on an extra burst of speed and went through the gates with the guards wondering what was going on and why there was blood on the ground now. The doors to the hospital flew open and everyone jumped, "I need a medical ninja right away." He stated as he came in.

A man in white appeared with a bed and took Kuri into a room. Now that he didn't have to worry Lee sank to the ground with exhaustion and out of breath. Neji walked in to see his teammate on his knees and noticed his labored breathing.

"Here Lee," Neji held out his hand to Lee.

Lee didn't say anything, just let himself be pulled up and led to a chair. Once he sat for a moment and caught his breath, Lee spoke, "This is pathetic, that little run and I'm falling to my knees in exhaustion."

Neji looked at his friend critically, "It's not pathetic when you're carrying an extra hundred thirty pounds on your back."

Lee looked up in shock, "Do you really think she weighs that much?"

"Yeah, you might not have noticed it but her muscles were well toned and she was easily 5' 5'."

"I guess I didn't notice because I was so worried that she was going to die." Lee chuckled at this.

Neji smiled, "Yeah, I've only seen you like that once before and it was when Sakura was in danger."

The doctor who took Kuri came out, "She'll be all right now, she's lucky, if you had gotten her here a minute later she'd be dead."

"C-Can I see her?" Lee asked.

The doctor contemplated this for a moment before smiling, "Ok but only for 5 minutes, and only one visitor at a time."


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2

Neji knew he should leave so he stood up, "I'll go check in with Gai-sensei, you go see her."

Lee sighed and nodded before being led off to Kuri's room.

"Here we are, remember only 5 minutes."

"Thank you," Lee bowed and entered the room, "Kuri?"

He sat down next to her and seeing all of the bandages on her he couldn't stop a single tear from running down his cheek.

"L-Lee?" Kuri stirred and her eyes parted ever so slightly, "Is that you?"

"Hai, I'm here," Lee grinned now that she was awake.

"What happened," Kuri tried to sit up but Lee pushed her back down.

"Don't move, you almost died," Lee held his hand on her shoulder until she relaxed.

Kuri looked around the room and realized that she was in the hospital, "Did you carry me all the way here?"

Lee blushed and nodded, "I'll go get Sakura and see if she wishes to speak with you about what your injuries were."

He left for a minute and came back with a pink haired kunoichi, "Kuri, meet Sakura."

Sakura bowed and then turned to Lee, "Thank you for letting me know that she was awake, but you need to leave for a little."

He turned to Kuri but she just nodded. "All right but call me if you need me."

When he was gone Sakura began to talk as she checked all of the monitors in the room, "You're a very lucky person, you had a broken rib that had pierced your lung and a large wound to the abdomen, we had to reattach your ab muscles."

"Thank you for all of your help," Kuri looked away and Sakura felt that there was something wrong.

"You don't need to thank me it's my job, (dramatic pause) is there something troubling you?"

Kuri's face became red and she whispered, "I don't know why, but I wish to become a Konoha ninja, but I have no home, no money and no clothes, now that mine are destroyed."

Sakura smiled, "I can't help you with the first two other than to tell you that you should see the Hokage, but I can help you with the third, I have a large bag of clothing at home I had been meaning to get rid of now that they're too small, if you want them you're more than welcome to them."

"Oh!" Kuri let out a small squeal, "Thank you so much."

Sakura laughed and looked back as she left the room, "I'll bring them by tomorrow."

Kuri layed back and nodded, suddenly feeling very tired she closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Lee came in again but when he saw that she was sleeping he left so as not to wake her.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

Kuri slept all of the night and when she woke she found Lee staring at her once again, "Good morning Lee."

"Morning!"

Kuri looked around and spotted what she was looking for, there on one of the chairs was a garbage bag filled with clothing, this brought up a question, "Lee?"

He looked at her and waited.

"When can I leave?"

Lee was taken aback at this, "Don't you want to stay?"

Kuri laughed, "Not Konoha silly, the hospital."

Lee blushed in embarrassment, "Sakura said you can leave whenever you want as long as you check in with her in two weeks."

"Yes!" Kuri jabbed her fist in the air but then winced, "Hehe, still sore."

Lee smiled and then saw her staring intently at him, "What?"

She pointed to him then the door, "Can I get changed now?"

Without saying a word Lee smiled and left the room.

Kuri got out of bed carefully, knowing that it would hurt, amazingly there was no excruciating pain just tender spots. "Lets see what Sakura gave me."

She rummaged through the bag and pulled out a pair of skintight ninja pants and a tank top. "Perfect." Pulling on the clothing she found them to be just her size.

"Lee you can come in now."

Lee walked in and did a double take when he saw her, she was in the middle of combing out her thick brown hair and the clothes she wore were very flattering.

"Lee, is there any way that I can see the Hokage today?"

Lee snapped out of his trance, "Uhh, yeah you should be able to."

Kuri smiled, "Good because I'm going to find a place to live and I'm going to try to become a ninja."

Lee did his good guy pose and grabbed Kuri's hand, "We'd better get you signed out then."

Kuri began to furiously blush, "Lee, please let go of my hand."

"Oh sorry." Lee let go and held open to door for her.

Once out in the lobby Kuri spotted Sakura, "Sakura! I'm leaving."

"Awesome," Sakura walked over, "I'll check you out, you can leave."

"Thank you Sakura." Lee said before leading Kuri outside.

When they exited the building Kuri stopped and stared in disbelief, "It's huge!"

Lee looked at her a moment before understanding, "Is the cloud village small?"

"Very."

"Well there'll be time for gawking later, for now we need to get to the Hogake." Lee smiled and pulled Kuri along.

They entered to find an ANBU black op waiting for them, "We have been expecting you Lee and Kuri."

Kuri tried to hide behind Lee but he held her in front, "Come now Naruto do you really have to scare the poor girl?"

The ANBU pulled off his mask to reveal a blonde smiling man, "Heh just joking," he turned to Kuri and bowed, " Pleasure to meet you, any friend of Lee's is a friend of mine."

Kuri relaxed a bit and smiled back, "P-pleasure to m-meet you too."

Naruto smiled and held open the hokage's door, "Go on in."

After closing the door behind them, Lee and Kuri walked up to Tsunade and bowed.

"So you're the ninja Lee found, very interesting." Tsunade circled Kuri and examined her, "You certainly aren't any wimp, those ninja must have been strong."

Kuri blushed, "Actually they ambushed me, I didn't have time to react."

Tsunade smiled, "Well that's beside the point, as far as I can tell you could be evaluated for chuunin."

Kuri frowned, "my father trained me to be a jounin, but I would love to be a chuunin and maybe train hopeful genin!"

Lee turned and did one of his good guy poses, "That is a great idea! You are most youthful."

Kuri gave him a 'WTF?' look before looking back to Tsunade.

She pondered this and smiled, "I will think about it and get back to you, until then you will need a place to stay."

Kuri's face fell, "I have no money, I used it all before I got here."

Lee poked her, "You can stay with me, I have an extra bedroom!"

Tsunade didn't even wait for an answer she just said done and put it in a file. Naruto then walked in and escorted them out of the building and pulled Lee aside for a moment.

"Lee, what's going on that you're letting this girl live with you, I haven't even seen your house." Naruto worried that his friend was going to be hurt just like with Sakura.

Lee just smiled, "I just want her to get settled here, besides I found her and I should watch out for her now."

Lee, then walked away and led Kuri to his home. Once inside he showed her all the rooms and when the tour was done he sat her down, "Kuri, I want you to feel welcome here and I know that most people would expect some sort of rent but I don't want it, instead since I've never had much of an eye for color you can do what ever you like to your room and the rest of the house, okay?"

Kuri didn't understand, Lee had been nice enough to help her with the cloud ninjas, give her a home, and now he didn't want rent? Suddenly she got a bright idea, "Lee what time do you leave in the morning?"

He couldn't imagine why she wanted to know but he answered, " usually around 6am, why do you want to know?"

She smiled, "You'll find out tomorrow!" with that she ran off to get a better look at the house.

"What on earth was that about?" Lee shrugged and went down to his training room so he could workout.

After ½ an hour he came back upstairs to find Kuri rummaging through the cupboards but when she saw him staring she quickly shut them, "sorry," she muttered embarrassed, "I was just looking around."

Lee laughed so hard he almost fell over.

"Oi!" she yelled, "What's so funny?"

Lee composed himself and found his voice, "Just the fact that you're going to live here and you're embarrassed about going through some cupboards, it's so ridiculous!"

Kuri couldn't help herself she started to giggle as well, "I guess that really is ridiculous, not to be rude but your kitchen is practically empty."

This time Lee was embarrassed, "Yeah I know, usually I train so long that I just grab something while I'm out. Speaking of food, do you want to go get some dinner?"

(It's now almost 6:30pm)

Kuri's stomach growled at the mention of dinner, "Well I guess that's your answer."

Lee opened the door and let her go first, starting down the road nest to her after locking up, "So what kind of food do you like?"

Kuri thought for a moment, "I'll eat pretty much anything, except for mushrooms, I'm allergic."

Up ahead Ichiraku's ramen shop appeared and they could see Naruto walking in.

Lee looked down at Kuri and she nodded, they both went and joined Naruto for some good ramen.

While they were eating Naruto began to ask all kinds of questions, like 'where did you come from, why were you so close to Konoha, are you staying?' stuff like that.

With each question there was an answer and soon Lee was listening too, eager to know more about his housemate.

"So," Naruto muttered with his mouth full, "you're favorite color is green? That's perfect, Lee's always in green."

Kuri blushed at what Naruto was implying, "Oh, Naruto will you please stop."

He laughed and agreed. Kuri yawned and asked if they could go home.

"Its awfully late Lee and I'm tired, but if you want to stay I could go by myself."

Lee looked horrified at the thought, "No, even in Konoha a woman shouldn't be alone on the streets, especially not someone who's been recently injured. Let's go back, goodnight Naruto."

"Yes goodnight Naruto, I'm glad we got to know each other." Kuri smiled and gave him the briefest of hugs before walking in the direction they had come.

On the way home Lee picked up where Naruto had left off, bombarding Kuri with questions, yearning to know more.

Kuri would have none of it and answered two questions before losing her patience.

"Lee! Please stop, I want to get to know you better as well but asking me when I'm tired and sore from not completely healed injuries, you shouldn't try, maybe tomorrow, okay?"

Lee looked a little put out by her attitude but could tell by her eyes that her injuries were sore and she was very tired, "Okay, sorry, I just enjoy talking."

Kuri smiled and when they arrived she waited for Lee to open the door. When they entered the house she muttered a faint goodnight before going to her room and falling asleep instantly.

Lee stayed up for hours, pondering exactly why he had such an interest in this girl, and why on earth he had offered his home to her. Perhaps it was the thought of her being in some strange mans house, alone and not knowing anyone. 'Yup' he thought, 'that's it'.

Lee decided that staying up wouldn't help him since he had work to do in the morning so he went to bed, dreaming of the mysterious girl in the room next door.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch.4

In the middle of the night Naruto came through Lee's window, giving him an important mission and told him to leave immediately. Lee had just enough time to gather his stuff, write a note and leave some money for Kuri, and then he was off.

Many hours later Kuri woke and stretched, looking out the window she saw a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, "Wow, there definitely aren't days like this one in the Cloud village."

Getting up, she walked to the bathroom and took a shower, having nothing to brush her teeth with she did her best with her finger, noting that a toothbrush would be first on her list of things to get today. When she walked into the living room and found no one she just shrugged and went to the kitchen. There on the counter was Lee's note,

_Kuri,_

_I got called away on an urgent mission; I should be back by night. The pouch has money in it. Buy whatever groceries you want, and a toothbrush, no offense but your breath stinks._

She laughed at this and kept reading.

If you have any trouble, just look for Tenten, she is usually at the training grounds by 5 am. She can help you find your way. The area that we use is a quarter of a mile down the road to the right when you walk out the door. I left a key in the pouch too, be sure to lock up.

_Lee_

Kuri sighed, "guess I'm not going to learn about Lee today, I'll just talk to him tonight."

She was curious about how much money Lee had left so she grabbed the drawstring bag on the counter.

"Wow," There was more than enough to buy groceries and a toothbrush in there, "I suppose I should go find Tenten."

Kuri locked up and started down the road, deciding that a jog would be nice she went faster. Even before she got there she could hear the thud of weapons hitting trees. Once close enough to be heard but far enough away to be safe she called, "Tenten!"

Tenten stopped what she was doing and looked towards where the voice had come from, seeing Kuri she beckoned her closer.

"Well, what brings you here on this fine morning?" Tenten asked.

"I was hoping that you could help me get some stuff done, I don't know my way around and Lee was called away late last night."

Tenten gave a knowing look and smiled, "Sure, if you can wait 5 minutes, I'm almost done here."

Kuri nodded and walked a safe distance away where she could observe and not be in the way. Just as Tenten said, 5 minutes went by and she was done.

"Okay, where are we off to first?"

"I was hoping to get some grocery shopping done, and I need to buy a toothbrush, Lee said my breath stinks." Kuri giggled at the thought of the note.

Tenten looked appalled, "remind me to kick his ass when he gets home, that was rude."

Kuri laughed and waved Tenten off, "there's no need for that, I know he was just joking."

They walked along and chatted, all that Kuri basically got from the conversation was that Tenten was going out with Neji.

'Neji, it's weird, I could swear that I've heard that name before, oh well,' Kuri thought as she walk but switched her mind back to the project at hand.

They walked through town and Kuri goggled at everything, "The cloud village is nothing like this."

Tenten laughed and pulled her into a store where she could get the groceries and her toothbrush. When they got inside Kuri was once again goggling, but Tenten would have none of that, she just dragged her along. As they went down the isle, Kuri would name things off of her mental list and Tenten would help her find them. At the end of one of the isles, there was a very pregnant woman with long black hair.

"Oh, hey Hinata!" Tenten chirped happily as they walked up.

Hinata turned around and smiled, "Hey there Tenten, who's this," she motioned towards Kuri and gave a bright smile.

Tenten smiled also, "This is Kuri, we saved her from some Cloud ninja."

"Yeah," noticing Hinata's eyes she thought of something, "are you by any chance related to Neji?"

"Yes, he's my cousin." Hinata gave another smile before wincing.

Tenten looked concerned but Hinata waved her off, "It's just the baby kicking, there's no doubt its Naruto's"

Kuri suddenly remembered the smiling blonde man, "Oh, you're Naruto's wife?"

Hinata nodded, "We have one other child she'll be in the academy this year."

Kuri nodded, "Well I'm trying to become a ninja, maybe I'll teach… is your child a boy or girl?"

"Girl, her name is Nina."

Tenten was getting impatient, "Well it was nice talking to you, Kuri we should pay for this stuff and get it back to Lee's."

Hinata looked puzzled at this but Kuri understood her face, "Lee was nice enough to give me a place to stay."

"Yup, that's the Lee I know, well it's been nice talking to you." Hinata walked off in the other direction.

They paid for the stuff and got it all back before the frozen foods got too warm.

"Thanks for the help Tenten!" Kuri called as Tenten walked away.

"Sure thing, just give me a call if you need any more help."

Around 4 Kuri started to make dinner and just as she finished setting the table Lee waked in. He stopped in the doorway and sniffed, a dreamy look coming over his face.

"Hey, what're you cooking?" He asked as he entered the kitchen.

Kuri didn't turn around and it was probably a good thing, Lee was covered in blood, mostly from multiple cuts on his face, "Just some pork, I figured I'd keep it simple."

"Kay, please let me know when it's time to eat, I'm going to take a shower."

"Gotcha."

When the pork and the broccoli were finished she called Lee out, noticing the cuts lining his face she gasped.

"Lee, what on earth happened to you?"

Lee chose just to smile and he pulled out a chair for her.

"Oh no," Kuri stated, "You're not getting off that easy, what happened?"

Lee sighed and walked to his chair, "I just got into a little scuffle, that's all."

"Well, all right, as long as you clean them out good so they don't get infected." Kuri sat and cut Lee and herself some pork.

Lee's mouth began to water and he had to swallow before he spoke, "I haven't had a home cooked meal in so long, and this looks so good, thank you."

Kuri smiled, "No need to thank me Lee, you are after all letting me stay in your home."

They talked as they ate and Kuri learned all about Lee's parents dieing when he was very young and how Gai had him get past his lack of skill in all types of jutsu. They finished and Kuri began to clean up the plates, Lee got up to help put she pushed him back into the chair, "No, you just got back from your mission, take it easy, I don't mind."

Seeing the look on her face Lee sat quietly and waited. When the dishes had been washed and the leftovers put in the fridge they went and watched the news. After half and hour Lee yawned and stood up, "I'm beat, I'm going to bed, see you in the morning."

Kuri looked up and nodded, "Okay, night."

When the news was finished Kuri went and brushed her teeth before also getting into bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

The next morning a messenger came to the door, Kuri got there first, "May I help you?"

"Yes mam, you have been accepted as one of our ninja, at chuunin level, also at the beginning of the school year, you shall begin teaching a taijutsu class." The messenger held out a vest and a leaf village headband.

Kuri was lost for words so she took what was held out to her and bowed.

Once back inside, she burst into cheers, "Yes!"

Lee came out of his room, "What's going on?"

Kuri held out her vest and tied her headband around her neck, "I'm a chuunin!"

Lee's face brightened and he pulled her into a big hug, "congratulations!"

Kuri's face turned red, "Uhh, Lee, you're hugging me."

Lee instantly let go, his face equally as red, "S-sorry."

Kuri laughed, "there's nothing to apologize for, it was jus something new."

"Does that mean if I hug you again it won't be as awkward?" Lee seemed afraid that she would reject him.

Kuri sighed and nodded, "It won't be awkward, just remember that the only bodily contact I've had in years has been fighting, so it's different."

Lee nodded as well, "You'll get used to it pretty quick, Naruto likes to hug everyone, especially Hinata."

Kuri's face lit up at this, "I met Hinata yesterday while I was shopping."

"Did you, that's good, if you need a friend she's always there."

Kuri decided it was time for a change of subject, "Do you want any breakfast?"

Lee shook his head, "Maybe after training, if I eat now, I'll puke."

"Well then I'll just do some laundry or something, I'm not all that hungry at the moment anyways." Kuri went to walk down the hall but remembered something, "Lee, is it okay if I get your laundry?"

"Sure," with that Lee left and went off to train.

Most of Kuri's morning was spent cleaning and every hour she would change the loads in the washer and dryer. Now sweating she decided to crack a window. As she opened it a bird flew in, but it wasn't just any bird, it was a messenger hawk, the note read,

_Kuri,_

_As of today you are a Konoha ninja, congratulations. The Hokage wishes us to welcome you to the force and school staff. There is going to be a small gathering so you can meet the people you will be working closely with and so you aren't a complete stranger. Please bring anyone you like, since you live with Rock Lee, we expect him to be there._

_Iruka_

Kuri finished reading and set the note down, "So," she asked the bird, "Would you like a snack."

The Hawk just stared at her but she could tell it was hungry, so into the kitchen she went where she tore a piece of steak away and brought it out the messenger. It quickly gobbled up the piece and flew back out the window.

Picking the note back up Kuri brought it into her room, as she went to set it down something clicked in her brain, "I don't know when school starts or even where it is."

Grabbing the key to the house, she quickly locked up and went left down the road. After traveling for half and hour and now completely lost. Spotting a man walking down the street she called to him, "Excuse me sir?" she said as he came over, "could you tell me how to get to the ninja academy?"

The man sneered, "Sure honey, for a price."

Kuri didn't like the sound of that, "No thank you, I'll ask someone else."

As she walked away he grabbed her wrist, "Hehe, it doesn't work that way." He held a kunai up to her neck, pressing just hard enough to draw a small trickle of blood.

Realizing what danger she was in Kuri went into action. She grabbed the man's wrist with her free hand and twisted it, once he was yelling in pain she quickly jabbed him in the stomach. He doubled over and Kuri brought her leg up and kicked him, sending him flying. "Don't underestimate me, I'm not some wimpy girl you can boss around."

With that she stalked off, now highly irritated and still just as lost, "Aw damnit."

She walked another 15 minutes before finding a familiar face, "Naruto!"

Naruto turned to see Kuri running up, "Hey, what are you doing here."

Kuri's face turned red, "I'm a bit lost, can you help me?"

Naruto's face softened, "Sure, where are you off to?" At that moment he noticed the blood running down Kuri's neck, "Hey what happened, are you all right?"

Kuri brought her hand to her neck and realized she was bleeding, "Oh, didn't even notice it, it's probably from the guy who attacked me."

Naruto's concerned face turned to rage, "Someone attacked you!"

"Yeah, but it was no big deal, he's probably running home crying to his mommy about how a girl kicked his ass."

Naruto began to laugh, "Remind me not pick a fight with you."

"Well, anyway, I'm trying to get to the school, I'm going to be working there and I don't even know where it is."

Naruto turned around, "This way."

Kuri followed him for around 15 minutes before the school came into view, "Thanks Naruto, I think I can get there in my own now."

Naruto nodded and went back the way he had been originally going. Kuri walked along and went in the front door of the school. Inside there was a man with a large scar across his nose, "How may I help you?" he asked.

Kuri smiled, "Hi, I'm Kuri, I was wondering when the new year started."

Iruka smiled right back, "Ah yes, the new year starts on September 1st."

"Thank you, may I ask what your name is?"

"I'm Iruka, I sent you the letter." He got up and shook her hand, "It's very nice to meet you."

Kuri went home and got breakfast ready, when Lee got home there were pancakes and maple syrup on the table, "Once again, it looks delicious."

Kuri's face turned red, "Stop Lee, you're making me blush."

They sat down and Kuri tried desperately not to bring her hand to her neck and to just seem like everything was normal, unfortunately it didn't work, Lee noticed the cut.

"Hey," he peered at her, "What happened to your neck?"

Kuri shrugged and kept eating, hoping to deter him.

"Kuri," lee's voice became like a warning, "Tell me what happened."

"No, it doesn't matter."

Lee jumped up, "Doesn't matter, Kuri, you are staying in my house, therefore, you will tell me why there is a cut and blood on your neck."

Kuri stared at him in amazement, he had never spoken to her in that manner, "Fine," her eyes welled with tears, "I was attacked, okay? Guys just can't seem to keep their hands off me, it's been that way for years!" Kuri ran to her room, the tears falling freely now.

Lee couldn't believe himself, never before had he ever spoken to someone that way, and it frightened him. He went to Kuri's room but as he went to knock he heard something that hurt him more than anything, "Father," she began, "Why, why me, why is it that no matter where I go it's no different, men just seem to think that they can control me, that I'm so weak," she sniffled, "Sasuke was no different, maybe that's why he did it, he saw my weakness and took advantage of it and now I can never have honor." Kuri began to bawl, even Lee could tell from behind the door.

"Kuri?" He opened up the door just a crack, "May I come in?"

"I can't stop you."

Lee had had it, he walked over to her and lifted her to her feet, "You most certainly can stop me, this is your house too, and if you don't want me here then I will leave this room." Lee pulled her into a tight hug, "I heard what you said and I'm here for you if you want to talk, even if it's something horrible."

Kuri looked up at him before her eyes began to well up again, "Oh Lee." She held him close to her as if afraid he would leave, "Thank you."

Lee sat down on the bed and placed her on his lap, her head resting against his shoulder, they slowly rocked back and forth, "I'm here." Lee sat there until her sobs turned to sniffles and she sat up, "I'm sorry, I got you all wet and you don't need to hear about my problems."

Lee looked down at her sympathetically, "I'd like to know everything about you and if Sasuke did something to you then I will personally make sure he gets it back tenfold."

Kuri looked at him before sighing, "All right, you deserve to know after what I just did." She took a deep breath before talking, "As you know Sasuke killed my father, what I didn't tell you is that afterword, he took me while I was still in shock, and r-r…" she stopped, feeling as though the word was caught in her throat.

"What did he do to you?"

Kuri force herself to say it, "He, r-raped me."

Lee's eyes widened, and he pulled her back into his arms, "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Kuri didn't cry, she had no tears left she just sat there and soaked in the warmth of Lee and allowed him to comfort her. When he released her he stood her up and stood next to her, "I know it's odd but when I hear bad news or something bad happens I train, would you like to join me?"

Kuri nodded, "Yes, I think some training would be the best right now."

As they went out the door, Lee paused, "Kuri, just so you know, it is Sasuke who has lost his honor, not you."


	6. Chapter 6

They locked up the house and went to the training area that Lee, Neji, Tenten and Gai-sensei used. When they got there nobody else was training. Kuri started stretching and Lee stared at her, "What are you doing?"

Kuri laughed at him, "Stretching, you should too if you plan on training, it's good for you."

Lee didn't seem to understand so Kuri explained, "Your muscles and tendons are what allow you to move, without them your body would just lay there. If you stretch your muscles you in a sense warm up and they won't tear as easily. If you don't stretch the possibility of injury increases."

Lee scoffed at that, "I've never torn any of my tendons or muscles and I never stretch, besides, there's no time to stretch before a battle."

"That's true, but why get injured in training if there are ways to prevent it."

By now everyone else was there and listening intently Neji stepped forward, "She's right Lee, it would be a good idea to stretch before we train to prevent unnecessary injury."

Lee stared at Neji in amazement, "But you never stretch!"

"That's true," Neji got into his stance, "But my technique doesn't rely on physical strength so much as spiritual strength."

Lee didn't know what to say so he just stared. Then he thought of something, "Well it's not like I can use jutsu or anything so why bother, eventually I'll probably get surpassed by some genin that can use genjutsu well or something."

Kuri had no idea what they were talking about, "What do you mean, why can't you use jutsu?"

Everyone stared at her, Gai decided to speak up, "I guess Lee didn't tell you, he is unable to use chakra, we don't know why, he just can't."

Kuri's face became very serious and she crossed her legs, quietly folding her hands in a manner similar to Shikamaru's planning pose. After a few minutes she opened her eyes and got up, "I think I can fix that."

Everyone's eyes widened and they looked at each other, not knowing how that was possible, even Sakura didn't know what was the problem. "And how will you do that?" Neji asked.

Kuri smiled, "If my presumptions are correct, then Lee's chakra coils just didn't develop." She walked up to lee and placed her hand mere centimeters from his abdomen, "Stay still." Her hand began to glow an eerie green, not the healing green like the color they expected. Her hand slowly moved up until it was in front of his heart. The glow stopped and her eyes opened, "I think I was correct, Neji?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you use your Byakugan and tell me what Lee's chakra coils look like?"

Without answering Neji activated his Byakugan and stared at Lee, "They look similar to that of a newborn child."

Kuri smiled and nodded in thanks, "Just as I thought, Lee, you have underdeveloped chakra coils, something I can fix if I get in a few weeks of medical practice."

Gai-sensei's eyes began to water and he jumped onto her and practically throttled her. As Gai had his miniature hysteria attack Kuri looked pleadingly at Lee, "Make him get off, you know how I feel about hugging."

Lee tried to pry Gai-sensei off but he wouldn't move. Eventually he gave up and just waited. Seeing that she wasn't getting out of the embrace anytime soon Kuri forced herself to relax and put her arms around him as well. This only made his hug tighten and she began to gasp for air, "Please, can't… breath."

Realizing just what he was doing to her Gai-sensei let go and stood up. "There is no way for me to thank you, but I hope that one day we can repay you in some way."

Kuri caught her breath and smiled at him, "There is no need for that, this is payment for saving me."

Now that that little scene was over everyone went to work, Kuri chose to battle Neji, "I hope you know what you're doing." He said while getting in his stance.

She smirked, "You have no idea." The truth was that she had once known a Hyuuga when she was barely 2 and they had fought all of the time. She knew exactly how to best him. Their battle started with them both walking in a circle around each other, trying to find an opening. Knowing that he would come if she gave a small one too him Kuri shifted her stance just the slightest bit. It did exactly what she had wanted it to do; he came at her and went straight for her middle. When his hands were mere centimeters from her abdomen she twisted and brought her hand up so she could catch him in the chin. Neji hadn't activated his Byakugan yet and barely backed off in time.

They went back to circling each other and he smiled, "You're good."

Kuri nodded, "I know."

This time without waiting for an opening Kuri sprang and disappeared form his sight, now Neji was forced to activate his Byakugan and rolled away before her foot came slamming down on his shoulder. As she regained her balance from missing her target Neji took his chance. He ran up and went to jab her with his Jyuuken but she back flipped away from him. This went on for 15 minutes before Kuri began to tire. Normally it would have taken longer but with a recent injury her batteries weren't fully charged.

Even though she was tired Kuri wouldn't give up. Another 5 minutes later and she and Neji both had a hit on each other. Finally she could take no more and raised her hand in defeat, "sorry Neji, with my injuries still healing I don't have enough energy to keep going."

He relaxed and deactivated his Byakugan, "I had no idea you could fight so well, especially against a Hyuuga."

Kuri's face fell, "When I was little I had a friend who was a Hyuuga, I was two at the time so I don't remember much, other that the battle techniques he taught me." She laughed, "I guess that's an odd thing to do when you're two."

Neji shook his head, "Not at all, I used to travel to the Cloud village with my father all of the time, I made some really good friends there, one used to always call me Ne-kun, thinking it was cute."

Kuri's eyes widened, "D-did you just say Ne-kun?"

"Yeah, why?"

She swallowed hard, "You didn't by any chance call that person K-chan did you?"

Now Neji's eyes widened, "Yes, yes I did, how would you know that?"

Kuri's vision began to get blurry with tears, "Because that was me." She simply couldn't stop herself and she ran to him, wrapping her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder, "Oh, Ne-kun."

He hesitantly placed his hands around her and forced himself to say something, "I thought you didn't like hugging."

Kuri laughed, "That's true, but only with strangers, and you're far from one."

Another voice broke the sudden peace within her, "Um… what are you two doing?"

Neji instantly let go and looked up, there was Tenten and Lee both staring wide-eyed, Kuri jumped to their rescue, "We just realized that we were friends when we were little."

Lee smiled, "That explains it, he did seem oddly relaxed around you."

For the first time in his life Neji blushed out of embarrassment, "Shut it Lee."

Tenten giggled and latched onto her boyfriend, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about Neji, having old friends is a good thing."

Kuri gave a yawn and Lee could see the fatigue in her eyes, "tired?" he asked.

She nodded and smiled, "Neji is quite the fighter, although I suppose he would fight me even more if I told you the nickname I gave him when we were little."

Neji glared at her, "Don't you dare."

"What ever you say… Ne-kun."


	7. Chapter 7

By the time Lee and Kuri got home it was around 2. She went to take a nap and he sat down to think. Almost instantly he could hear her gentle snores coming from the open door leading into her bedroom. 'So, Kuri and Neji know each other, this is interesting. Either way, she's tired after their battle, she has healing injuries though, that means she could go longer in a few weeks.' Lee got up and went to the kitchen where he found a clean glass and got some water. While he was drinking there was a loud thud and sounds of pain came from Kuri's room, he went to take a look and there was Kuri on the floor in a tangled mess. "You okay?"

She looked up startled at his presence, "Yeah, I was dreaming and got tangled in the sheets, resulting in this mess I'm in now." For a few seconds she attempted to get out of the blankets but had no luck, "Can you give me a hand?"

Lee chuckled and walked over, deftly grabbing the sheet and pulling it away, "Better?"

Kuri nodded and got up, managing to get her foot stuck in the sheets and fell right onto Lee, "Sorry, I tripped."

"No problem, I'll be in the living room if you need me." Lee set her right and left. Out in the living room he could hear her silently cursing herself for being so clumsy. He gave a small chuckle and sat down on the couch. Moments later she came out, "I guess that I'm not gonna get back to sleep any time soon."

She walked out into the kitchen and then came back out almost instantly, "Lee?"

He looked up at her, "Yes?"

"D-do you think Sakura would mind if I trained with her so I can fix your chakra network?"

Lee thought for a moment then shook his head, "No, I don't think so, we could head over to the hospital and ask if you'd like."

Kuri nodded and for the third time that day she had to be led around, despite the fact that it was hurting her pride she didn't mind, it was certainly better than getting lost again. As they walked she got to thinking, 'It sure would be nice to do missions, I'm probably too inexperienced to go though'. They walked through many twists and turns of the town and eventually were in front of the hospital, "Ready?" Lee asked as Kuri just stood there.

"Yeah, I was just thinking."

As soon as they were inside the door Sakura came running, "Hey guys! What are you doing here?"

Lee and Kuri both smiled and greeted the energetic blob of pink in front of them. On this day Sakura chose to wear a completely pink nurses uniform and it made her look like a big pink flower. Kuri stepped forward, "Can we go somewhere to talk?"

Sakura nodded and held her hand up so they would stay there; she then hopped back to the nurses station and spoke with one of the senior nurses. A couple minutes later they were being ushered into a small conference room. Sakura sat down and looked expectantly at them. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?"

Kuri took a deep breath and explained to her what had happened while they were training, and how she thought that with a little practice so she wasn't rusty, she could fix Lee's chakra coils. When she told her of how she could do it Sakura's eyes lit up, "What can I do to help?"

Kuri began to explain how the procedure would have to happen, "I can do it on my own, well almost, it will require an amount of chakra I don't have, therefore I would need at least two people pumping chakra into me at all times, that way I wouldn't drain my chakra to absolute zero and eventually die."

Sakura seemed to get it, "So you want me to help you get some practice in as far as the medical field goes and you want me to find people with enough chakra to help you?"

At the nod from Kuri, Sakura stood up, "All right, as far as the medical practice goes I'll have to ask lady Tsunade, but if she agrees I think I have the perfect people for the job of chakra restorers." She went to the door and opened it up, "I'll see what I can do and get you an answer by tomorrow."

Both Lee and Kuri bowed deeply to Sakura in thanks and left with hope in their hearts.

That night Kuri made Lee's favorite dinner, wantons. It was very quiet and neither of them could seem to find the right words for a conversation. It wasn't until Kuri was cleaning up that she finally decided to speak, "Lee?"

He looked up from the paper, "Yeah."

"D-do you think that I could go on some missions with you guys, you know, be part of the team?" Her face turned red and she was glad that he couldn't see.

Lee was silent and Kuri feared that he would say no, instead he walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I personally would love that but if you do missions then you can't go to work at the academy, it's the way things work here."

She thought for a moment then turned to face him with a big smile, "Then I guess that those kids will have to wait to see a sensei like me."

Lee began to happy cry and hid himself from Kuri, this worried her and she began to think that she had said something wrong, "Lee, I'm sorry if I said something."

He shook his head and pulled his hands away from his tear streaked face, "I'm just so happy that you will be accompanying us from now on." Without thinking Lee pulled her into a huge hug and when he realized what he was doing he pulled away, "Sorry, I forgot."

Kuri smiled, and pulled him back, "It's okay, I'm getting used to it."

They stayed in that position until Kuri got uncomfortable and stepped back, "I guess I'll go to bed, it's getting awfully late, and tomorrow is going to be big, I have to explain to Lady Tsunade why I'm not going to teach."

Lee nodded in understanding and went to his room as well, the sound of soft breathing in the other room lulling him to sleep.

The next morning Lee woke Kuri after he got up so they could discuss becoming part of the team with everyone. Lee soon found out that Kuri was such a morning person it was almost scary. The first thing she did every morning was take a shower, then she would brush her teeth and hair. When she was dressed she would grab a piece of fruit and pull her thick wavy hair into a tight, high ponytail.

She smiled at him expectantly, "Ready to go?"

Lee nodded apprehensively and went to the door, "Let's go."

As they walked along Lee woke up a bit more and walked a bit faster, Kuri noticed this and sped up so she was in front of him. Lee smirked and began to jog, she did the same. This kept up until they were sprinting down the road, "You'll never beat me!" Lee yelled out.

He was right, at the very end he put on a burst of speed and beat her, "Told you."

Kuri smiled and leaned over; she placed her hands on her knees and caught her breath. When she could breathe properly again she stood up, "Man, you're fast!"

Gai-sensei, Neji and Tenten all showed up a few minutes later and were pleasantly surprised to see Kuri there. "To what honor do we owe this visit?" Gai-sensei asked.

Kuri smiled and bowed, "Good morning everyone."

Neji returned the bow and muttered a brief good morning, Tenten on the other hand came over and gave her a slap on the back, "No need for the proper stuff, we're all friends."

Gai-sensei asked his question again and Kuri spoke before Lee could open his mouth, "Well, I was wondering… if it would be okay… if I went on missions with you guys… I don't think that teaching is a good idea right now, I don't know enough about the way Konoha works."

Neji and Tenten both nodded, showing that it was okay with them. Gai-sensei wasn't quite sure how to answer, he liked Kuri but they knew hardly anything about her, he finally thought of something, "Have you talked to the Hokage about this?"

Kuri's face fell, "I'll take that as a no."

Lee jumped in, "Why not Gai-sensei?"

Gai wasn't sure how to break it to his favorite student, "Lee, how long have we known Kuri?"

Lee thought for a second before giving an answer, "About 5 days."

Gai nodded, "Exactly, we don't know enough about her, but since I can see you guys want her to come with us I'll make a condition, the Hokage has to give her consent and she will train with us every day after he wounds have fully healed."

"I accept your terms." A voice spoke up. Lee jumped when he heard it; he had completely forgotten Kuri was there, "Are you sure? Our training is pretty harsh."

Kuri nodded, "If I have to train 'til I drop just so I can join up with you guys then I will."

Gai-sensei smiled and nodded his head, "good, go see the Hokage while we train and give us the answer when you get back."

"Hai!"


	8. Chapter 8

Kuri didn't waste time going along the streets, she went hopping along the rooftops so as to get to the Hokage tower faster. Along the way she was sure to memorize as many streets as possible for when she was actually on the ground. The trip was so fast that Kuri had to stop short so she didn't hit an ANBU leaving the building. She muttered a quick sorry and nervously walked inside. Up the 4 flights of stairs she went and quickly knocked on the door to Tsunade's office.

"Come in!" Tsunade called from within.

Kuri opened the door and stepped inside, giving a deep bow she shut the door and walked a bit farther into the room, "Good morning, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade looked up from her papers and smiled, "Good morning to you as well; how can I help you today?"

Kuri's hands folded behind her back and she hesitated ever so slightly before quickly saying, "IwanttojoinLee'steam!"

Tsunade began to laugh, "What was that, a tape recorder breaking? Try that one more time for me."

Kuri's face turned red and she took a deep breath, "I would like to withdraw from my teaching position and join team Gai."

Her brow furrowed and Tsunade frowned, "Why?"

"I… I feel that I can't do a good job teaching when I know so little about Konoha and have never been on an official mission before."

Tsunade nodded and grabbed a folder from one of the cabinets in the room, "You are absolutely right, you can't teach if you don't know our ways, you are officially part of team Gai." She put a few words in the folder and placed it back where she had gotten it.

Kuri's face lit up with happiness and she bowed so low that she stumbled a bit, "Thank you Tsunade-sama."

The smiling Hokage signaled that she could leave and Kuri left to go tell everyone the news. Gai was surprised that Tsunade had given permission but kept his promise. He informed her that from now on she should wear her vest everywhere and once her injuries were completely healed they would start training at 5 in the morning to catch her up on the more recent stuff they had been doing such as flips, handsprings and hand walks. This was fine with Kuri, considering that she could do all of that acrobatic stuff anyways.

Lee and Kuri went home at lunchtime and had a light lunch, she had to get used to eating small meals again. She then went to the hospital to set up an appointment to get all of the bandages off and the stitches removed. After that there wasn't much else to do so they went for a walk. As the two of them went along the tree line of a park, Kuri sighed. Lee was concerned at this, "Is everything okay?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I was just thinking about some friends I have in Suna, I haven't seen them in 3 years."

Lee nodded, "I have friends in Suna too, they don't come here very often though, too much to do."

"I just wish I could see them again."

"Why don't you write to them and ask them to visit?"

She looked at him amazed that he would even suggest it, "But that would be rude and I can't even guarantee that we would be here, for all we know we could be on a mission."

Lee shrugged, "It was just a suggestion, you can if you want, I'm always open to acquiring more friends." He gave her a big smile.

"That's really kind of you, thanks, I'll write to them soon." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and slipped into the trees next to them, "If you want to get me for that then you'd better find me!"

Lee smirked and jumped into the trees, searching for any sign of her. It took him nearly ten minutes of chasing Kuri after he found her before she got pinned to the ground, "Caught you." He looked into her eyes and they were sparkling with joy, "So you did."

He leaned down slowly so as to give her time to reject him. She did not and allowed Lee to capture her lips in a small kiss. It was only for the instant they were kissing but Kuri felt a fullness in her heart that hadn't been there since before her father had died. Lee got up quickly and helped her up off of the cold ground, "Sorry if I went too fast."

Kuri's face fell, "Lee there is nothing to be sorry for, it's not like I'm screaming and running away so don't worry, you would know if I didn't want that." She pulled him into a tight hug to get rid of any uncertainties, "Let's just be sure to be discreet about stuff like that for a while so people don't think it's the only reason I'm on your team and I'm some slut."

Lee's face contorted at the very idea of her being a slut, "That description just doesn't fit you."

Kuri gave a small smile, "Yeah, not everybody would agree with you."

"What do you mean?"

She tried to look away but Lee held her facing him, "What, do, you, mean ?

Kuri's face turned red a she stuttered out, "When I was traveling I went through boyfriends really quickly because I was always traveling, eventually I had a bunch of men chasing me and they all conspired and named me the countries number 1 slut."

Lee's face got red and his shoulders began to shake. Eventually he couldn't contain himself and he burst into laughter, "So? (laugh) you think (laugh) I care?"

" I suppose not, I just don't want you to think badly of me."

"It would never happen, lets go home." Lee put his arm around Kuri's shoulder and they walked off, happy to finally have somebody else in their lives.


	9. Chapter 9

Kuri began to do her medical training the next day and her team training the next week. She progressed rapidly with the medical jutsu and in no time had Sakura begging her to join the medical core. Of course, her answer was no. Gai, Neji, and Tenten were all impressed with her abilities when it came to taijutsu and she was on par with the rest of the team in no time. Two weeks passed and Kuri was ready to perform the jutsu on Lee that would change his life forever.

"Lee come on, we're going to be late!" She yelled from the door.

Lee came running and nearly slammed into her as he ran out of the house, "Let's go!"

Kuri giggled and locked up before chasing after the crazy green blur that was frightening everybody in town. When she finally caught up it was outside the hospital doors and Lee was leaning against the wall, seemingly bored, "Sheesh," he muttered, "What took you so long?"

She smacked him playfully upside the head and they walked inside together. Sakura was there immediately with Naruto and a ninja she had never met. As they walked to the room where the jutsu would be done Sakura explained that Naruto and the other ninja had been chosen to pump chakra into her. Sakura locked the door when they entered the room and let Kuri take over.

"Lee, go lay down in the center of the room." Kuri instructed as she rolled up her sleeves, "Naruto, I want you to be the first to assist me, I'm going to kneel by lee and I want you stand next to me and when I say go you are to pump a steady stream of chakra into my body, okay?"

Naruto nodded in understanding and took his position as soon as Kuri kneeled, and waited for her command.

"Okay, GO!" Naruto began to pour his chakra into Kuri and she did the same to Lee, the only difference was that her chakra was for healing. She concentrated on the coils around his heart and lungs first, and then moved onto the other vital organs. These would be the hardest to heal so she was sure do be extra careful. Next, was all through the arms, hands, and fingers. Many of these coils were small because of how small babies arms are and it took pinpoint precision to grow them. This took nearly 3 hours and Naruto began to tire so he switched with the other ninja. What was left was the legs, feet, toes, and head. These wouldn't be difficult except for around the eyes. Another 2 hours passed and finally the 'operation' was done. Kuri stopped the flow of chakra and so did the ninja behind her. She sat there panting slightly, and feeling exhausted. She would have fallen forward if it weren't for the fact that the other ninja, who later introduced himself as Konohamaru, caught her. Kuri thanked him and stood up slowly, trying to get the feeling back into her legs.

Lee was fast asleep on the floor and Kuri smirked before leaning down next to his ear and muttering, "You'd better get up, Gai-sensei won't be happy if he find's you sleeping on the job."

This provoked a most hilarious response, Lee sprang up yelling, "Forgive me Gai-sensei, it will never happen again!"

Everyone in the room fell over laughing at Lee's expense. It took him a minute to realize where he was and that he was the cause of the laughter. "That's not funny!"

Kuri sprang up off the floor, instantly halting her laughter, and hugged Lee tightly, "The jutsu was a success!"

Lee smiled and hugged her back while skipping in place, "Yosh! Now I can be even more youthful!"

Sakura and Naruto just laughed at Lee's antics but Konohamaru cocked his head to the right and stared dumbly. He snapped back to reality when Kuri suddenly dropped to the floor, unconscious before she hit the ground. Lee's happiness turned to worry in an instant and Sakura instantly checked her over. When her examination was finished she just smiled, "It's okay, she's just exhausted, 5 hours of medical jutsu even with help is a lot of work."

Lee sighed in relief and picked Kuri up, "I'll bring her home and when she wakes up we can tell everyone the good news." He brought her home by way of the rooftops and found that he was even faster now. Nobody seemed to notice him, which was unusual; normally people would smile and wave, but now, nothing. It didn't bother him though; he knew that it was because chakra was flowing through him.

As Lee jumped along Kuri moaned and her eyes opened just ever so slightly. "What happened?"

Lee smiled, "Even though you had Naruto and Konohamaru it was just a bit to much for you to do 5 hours of medical jutsu."

Kuri smiled and nodded. She shifted slightly in Lee's arms and seemed to want to say something. "What's wrong?" Lee asked.

A faint blush appeared on Kuri's cheeks and she awkwardly smiled, "It's just that you're holding me and it's a bit strange."

Lee stopped on top of one of the buildings and went to put her down but she held on tightly, "No, it's not that I don't like it, it's just strange. We can keep going."

Lee snickered and sprang off towards the training grounds. Gai-sensei, Neji and Tenten were all there and seemed surprised when they showed up. Lee set Kuri down but she was a bit unsteady on her feet. This made everyone's face turn to worry. Lee held her tightly so she wouldn't fall. Neji was the first to speek up.

"What happened? I thought the jutsu was to be performed today." He walked up to Lee and Kuri and placed a hand on the latter's shoulder, "Did something go wrong and that's why you look like you're about to drop?"

Kuri shook her head, "No, the procedure just took longer than I had thought and it was really taxing, a few minutes ago I was unconscious."

Neji sighed in relief and looked at Lee, "So you can use chakra now?"

"In theory, I don't exactly know how to try, I'm out of practice." Lee shuffled and bit, slightly embarrassed.

Tenten smiled and took Kuri's arm, "Why don't you teach him Neji, while Kuri and I sit for a bit."

Neji and Lee both looked at each other and scowled, "Yeah right." "As if I would let this jerk train me."

Kuri sighed and stood up a bit straighter, "Lee, don't' be so difficult, when I have my strength back I'll train you, but until then Neji is the best option."

Lee looked defeated for a moment but when he thought about what had happened two weeks ago he smiled. Maybe if he did a good job he would get another kiss, "Yosh! Let's

train!"


	10. Chapter 10

Kuri rested for a while, and watched Neji attempt to train Lee. It wasn't going well. Neji had little patience for the fact that Lee couldn't even concentrate chakra in a section of his body. This probably came from the fact that Neji had perfect chakra control, but, who knows.

After multiple bouts of yelling and Lee getting his hands burned by his own chakra, Kuri had had enough, "Okay, that's it, Lee, I will train you!"

Neji looked at her gratefully and left to go work on his jutsu. Lee smiled, "Maybe I'll actually get somewhere with you training me."

Kuri rolled her eyes and instructed Lee to sit down. Lee did as he was told and crossed his legs beneath his body. Next Kuri showed him the most basic of hand signs, the ones for chakra concentration. Neji had failed to do this. Lee placed his hands into position and looked to Kuri for more instruction.

"Okay, close your eyes and feel the chakra flowing through you, then find the spot with the weakest flow. Once you have done that try to redirect that chakra and make it flow to your hands."

Lee obediently closed his eyes and after a few minutes his hands began to glow. He was so surprised when he felt the change in chakra that he opened his eyes and lost his concentration, subsequently losing control and burning his hands once again. He yelped in pain and looked apologetically at Kuri. "Sorry, it surprised me."

Kuri shook her head, "That's okay, the fact that you did what I asked is enough. The next thing you will do is to try redirecting chakra to other places in the body. Once you have accomplished that we'll go on to something else."

Lee nodded and went back to concentrating. While he did that Kuri thought about how to go about the rest of his training. It took hours of work for Lee to redirect chakra to all the parts of his body and by that time he was exhausted.

"Okay, that's enough for now, we'll pick back up tomorrow."

Lee protested this, saying that he was fine, Kuri knew otherwise, he was sweaty and shaky. No matter how hard he tried Lee couldn't win against her in a verbal battle and gave up. "Fine, let's go home."

Kuri giggled a bit at how childish Lee was being but didn't say anything. They walked home in silence and all through dinner it was the same way. At 9-oclock Kuri got up from the couch and gave Lee a little wave, "Good night."

Lee 'hned' at this and ignored her. When he saw her dejected face he figured out just how much the silence was hurting her and stood up quickly, he walked to the hallway and just as she was walking into her room he yelled, "Night!"

Kuri went to bed with a smile on her face, knowing that tomorrow would go much better now that Lee wasn't pouting.

She got up the next morning at 4:30 only to find Lee in the kitchen cooking what she presumed to be breakfast. When he saw her, hair a mess and no make-up on he smiled.

"So what's this about?" Kuri asked.

Lee quirked an eyebrow, "What, I can't cook for you on a whim?"

Kuri gave him a look that said, 'don't give me that'.

"Okay! It's to say sorry for being such a twit yesterday, I was just frustrated that I got tired so easily."

Kuri smiled, "I understand, but you have to remember that it will take time for your chakra reserves to grow, so using them will be limited for a while."

Lee went back to cooking. A few minutes later he brought out two plates. "It's ready."

They sat down and Kuri examined her food, the bacon was a bit burnt and the eggs a bit runny but other than that it looked great, "Thank you." Lee took a bite out of his and grimaced.

"Yuck! Uh… you don't have to eat that if you don't want it."

Kuri wasn't listening, she was already halfway through her food. Lee shook his head and laughed, "Guess you want it." When Kuri had finished her plate and Lee had grabbed an apple, they showered and changed so they could head off to train.

Once again that day they spent hours training, this time on increasing the chakra flow in Lee's body so he could do jutsu. They wouldn't work on actual jutsu until later. Just before lunch they stopped and watched the others train. Kuri was still full of energy while Lee was flopped on the ground beside her. He was so tired. As they watched Neji and Tenten battle Kuri noticed something strange. Every time Tenten moved just right her left hand would glint. 'Hmmmm'

"Okay, stop!" Kuri called out.

Neji and Tenten slid into each other because they had been in dead runs, "What's up?" Tenten asked.

"Tenten, come with me." Kuri walked away from the group. Neji looked to Tenten for some reason for Kuri's actions but she just shrugged and walked away. When they were out of earshot Kuri turned around, "Is there anything that you would like to tell me?"

Tenten looked at her new teammate and friend with a bewildered look, "Um, no."

Kuri grabbed Tenten's left hand and held it up, there on her ring finger was a gold band with a small diamond on it, "Oh yeah, then what's this?"

Tenten's face turned a dark red and she looked at her feet, "It's nothing."

"Bullshit!" Kuri was amazed that her friend was hiding something that was so easily seen, "Do you honestly think that I'm going to leave it at that?"

"No," Tenten sighed and looked up, "Yesterday, Neji proposed to me."

Kuri pulled her teammate into a hug while squealing, "Yay, I knew it!"

Tenten went to shush her but it was too late, Lee came running, "What's wrong?"

Kuri took one look at her in secret boyfriend and couldn't help but laugh, "It's (giggle) nothing, go back with the others."

As Lee turned around they all heard, "MY MOST YOUTHFUL STUDENT, YOU ARE TO BE MARRIED!!!"

They all ran over to the field and burst into uncontrollable guffaws. Neji was running away from Gai-sensei, who seemed to be trying to hug him.

Kuri looked at the team that had welcomed her and thought, 'how on earth did I end up with this bunch of idiots… oh, I know, they saved me, and now I owe them my life' she looked over at Lee and took her previous thought back, 'no, it's because of the kindness is one man's heart.' Kuri smiled and went to save Neji. Once Gai-sensei was under control, they all sat down so Tenten and Neji could explain.

When they finished telling about how they were going to be married quietly with nobody else around, and they weren't going to have a honeymoon, Lee and Kuri left.

"They're a good couple." Kuri said as they walked home.

Lee looked down, "Yeah, but do you know what?"

"What?"

"WE ARE THE MORE YOUTHFUL COUPLE BY FAR!!!"

Kuri slapped Lee on top of the head and put a finger to her lips, "Shh, we're keeping it quiet, remember?"

Lee smirked, "Yeah, sorry."

Kuri rolled her eyes and stayed silent the rest of the way home. When they were finally inside the house she tackled Lee, "You know what, I'm gonna show you exactly what youthful is." She proceeded to kiss him, passionately. When she realized that Lee wasn't kissing back she pulled away. Lee's eyes were wide open and staring at her like she had three heads. Kuri muttered a quick sorry before rushing into her room and shutting the door, leaving a stunned Lee, laying motionless on the living room floor.


	11. Chapter 11

Lee stayed in that position until he got feeling back in his body. He just couldn't believe it. Kuri had never kissed him like that before. He didn't even comprehend that she had apologized and run away, he was too stunned. Lee stumbled off to his room where he slumped on the bed to figure out exactly what he was going to do, the kiss felt wonderful, but he didn't know how to react.

Down the hall Kuri was silently crying, thinking that Lee was going to reject her. "No, that won't happen, I'll leave instead, it's obvious what we have is nothing serious." Kuri grabbed her jacket and jumped out the open window. She walked along the streets until she came to the forest, shadowy from the setting sun, and beautiful with what light reached it. 'What a wonderful place' Kuri thought as she stepped into the trees. For a while she just walked along aimlessly, trying to forget the events of that day. When Kuri stepped into a clearing, she found a large herd of deer, all staring at her. Not a single one of them moved, they didn't seem frightened in the least. "Well hello there." She said calmly. A young doe, still bearing the spots that told everyone she was a baby, walked up. The doe placed her head in Kuri's hands and sighed as Kuri, scratched her chin. Seeing this, the other deer put their heads back down to graze.

"Never thought I'd see the day that the deer took to someone other than me." Kuri whipped around to see a man between two of the trees, "You must have a gentle touch."

Kuri eyed the man warily, "Who are you?"

"Shikamaru, the keeper of this heard, and you would be?"

"Kuri."

Shikamaru's eyes widened a bit, "So, you're the girl that Lee took under his wing, I thought I'd have to wait a long time to meet you."

Kuri was still way, but went back to scratching the doe's chin, "And why is that?"

"Because Lee never stops talking about you, he's highly protective of what's his."

"I don't belong to anybody, especially Lee." Kuri turned with a huff so that she wasn't looking at Shikamaru.

Now his curiosity was peaked, "Oh, I got the impression that you and Lee were a thing."

Kuri choked on a sob, "N-not anymore." Tears began to leak from her eyes and she buried her head in the doe's soft fur.

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome." He walked over and placed a comforting hand on Kuri's back, "Do you want to talk about it, I may not be able to help but I'm a good listener."

The sobbing woman nodded, "I guess." Kuri went through the whole story of how she and Lee had been secretly dating and what had happened earlier.

"Hmm, sounds like you're overreacting."

Kuri was taken aback at this, "What do you mean?"

Shikamaru moved so he was sitting right in front of Kuri, "You never gave Lee a chance, he's never had a real relationship before, Sakura and he tried it but she was too fixated on Sasuke. He probably didn't know what to do."

She thought about this, perhaps she hadn't given him enough time, it was definitely a possibility, "Well, either way, I'm not going back tonight."

Shikamaru nodded, "Where will you stay?"

"I think that I'll stay with this herd tonight, they're oddly calming and obviously like me." Kuri, sat for a minute, expecting a scolding from Shikamaru, it never came.

"Do whatever you want, but just so you know I'm not gonna leave you out here by yourself." Shikamaru situated himself in a tree and closed his eyes

Kuri cuddled up with the little doe. When the other deer saw that they were going to sleep they huddled around, keeping Kuri warm and safe.

The next morning Kuri woke to the deer grazing again and the sun high in the sky, "Holy shit!" she called out. She had been so tired from crying that she had slept well into the morning, everyone was probably worried sick. This was true of course, at that very moment Lee was trying to convince Neji that they needed to look for her, needless to say it wasn't working.

"Lee, she's a big girl, she can take care of herself." Neji watched his teammate as he walked around, close to hyperventilating.

"I know she can, but for her to disappear like that is so not like her!"

Tenten and Gai-sensei were watching the two silently, neither had been worried when Lee had got there an hour ago by himself, but after all this time they were beginning to side with Lee. Tenten looked towards the road and jumped up at what she saw.

"Kuri!" Neji and Lee both felt their teammate zoom past them before they even knew what was going on.

Lee turned and saw Kuri being strangled by Tenten.

"Where on earth have you been!?"

Kuri didn't quite know what to do, she knew that it was wrong to leave without telling anyone, but she still felt like it was the right thing to do. "Tenten, calm down, I've been out with Shikamaru."

Lee walked up behind the two girls and cleared his throat. Tenten released Kuri and stepped back, knowing that the two of them would need to talk.

"Why don't we go and discuss this" Kuri and Lee walked away.

When they were a decent distance away from the others, Kuri sat down and motioned for Lee to do the same, "Lee, I know you must have been worried but I needed to get some things straight in my mind."

Lee nodded and waited for her to continue.

"When I kissed you like that and you didn't kiss back I was afraid you were going to reject me. I realize now that I didn't give you sufficient time to react and I'm willing to take whatever answer you give me."

Lee's face wrinkled with hurt, "You thought I was going to reject you?" He pulled Kuri into a hug, "I would never."

Kuri smiled and wrapped her arms around the handsome green beast known as Lee, "Thank you."

Suddenly, Lee pulled back, "Kuri, where did you sleep last night?"

"I, uh, I slept with one of the Nara's deer herds, they're quite friendly."

Lee's face crumpled and he started to laugh, "Well, that explains the smell!"

Kuri slapped Lee lightly on the arm and laughed as well, "Then I guess you'll just have to take me home so I can shower."

He smiled, "Ok." Lee lifted her up in to his arms and carried her bridal style, all the way home.


	12. Official Notice

I'm very sorry to inform all of my wonderful readers that I will not be completing this story. Because of some extenuating circumstances along with a loss in my muse. It is sorely missed, and I wish that I could get it back.

I would like to thank everyone who read and reviewed my story. I thank you very much, and I hope that you with continue to read if I start again. I will have more stories, and with continue with some of my other ones, but updates will be sparse, and probably not very long.

If anyone would like to take over a story for me, temporarily or permanently, I would be more than willing to discuss it. Let me know if that's what you want to do!

With all my love to all my readers, I bid you farewell.


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